Keep Holding On
by ARandomFan91
Summary: Kurt is depressed. Blaine is in the closet. They're best friends. What happens when their world comes crumbling down? Can they be there for each other? Can they still manage to fall in love?
1. Chapter 1

Kurt Hummel and Blaine Anderson have been best friends for as long as they can remember. They grew up together, went through puberty together, suffered, laughed, cried, and learned with one another. They are completely inseparable. They even go to McKinley together, where they are both currently in their junior year.

Best friends through and through, they know each other better than anyone else.

For example, Kurt Hummel is the only one who knows that Blaine is gay.

Neither of them ever told the other that they were gay. They just knew. One day, when they were about 11 years old, sitting in the privacy of Kurt's room, Kurt started talking about how cute he found a guy in their class. Blaine instantly started talking about the eyes of another guy in class- a cute boy with blue eyes that sometimes changed to green and gray.

So talking about boys was just natural for Kurt and Blaine. Just like being gay was natural for Kurt and Blaine. It was just part of who they were, even if Blaine didn't want anyone to know.

"_Come on, Blaine! It's recess! Let's go play on the swings!" an 11 year old Kurt exclaimed at Blaine, grabbing his hand and running toward the swingset._

_Blaine latched on to Kurt's hand, and set off running alonside his best friend. _

_They were interrupted, however, by a group of bigger boys. David Karofsky stood front and center._

"_What do you want David? We're trying to play on the swings," Kurt asked with attitude._

"_I want you to stop holding hands with boys. It's gross," Karofsky said, pushing Kurt. _

_Blaine wanted to defend his best friend, but Karofsky was a lot bigger than him, and he was scared. Kurt was scared, too. In fact, it looked like Kurt was going to cry. But Kurt was a lot braver than Blaine. He always had been._

"_It's not gross! Blaine is my best friend, and if I want to hold hands with him, then I will! Right, Blaine?" Kurt asked, looking to his best friend for help. Blaine just stood there silently, gently removing his hand from Kurt's. _

"_See. Even your best friend knows it's wrong to be a fag," Karofsky snarled, pushing Kurt again. This time, Kurt fell to the ground and started crying. _

_He may be young, but he had enough years on him to know that fag was something he didn't want to be called. It was a mean, bad word. And it hurt every time someone yelled it at him._

"_Just go away, Karofsky," Blaine said weakly, helping Kurt up off the ground._

_Karofsky laughed at them, then walked away with his group of friends, all of them glaring at Kurt and Blaine as they passed. _

_Later that afternoon, in Kurt's room, Blaine had Kurt make a promise. _

"_Kurt... remember how a few weeks ago I told you how I thought a boy was cute. Well... I don't want anyone to know that except for you. I don't want to be called a fag. I don't want to be treated differently. I'm sorry. But can you promise to keep my secret for me?"_

_Kurt was reluctant, but this was his best friend. He would go to the ends of the earth from him, so he linked his pinky with Blaine's and promised to take his secret to the grave. _

Five years later, Kurt had never broken his promise. No one but Kurt had any idea that Blaine was gay. Of course, Burt, Kurt's dad, suspected it from the amount of time that Kurt and Blaine spent watching musicals together. Kurt had come out to his dad the year before, but Burt had known since Kurt was a little boy and asked for a pair of sensible heels.

But Burt never asked Blaine about it. He figured Blaine would come out when he felt comfortable.

So Blaine got away with portraying a straight person, but Kurt wasn't so lucky. Kurt fit a lot of the stereotypes associated with gay people, so people at school just assumed that he was, even though Kurt had never come out to anyone but the glee club and his dad.

Kurt never had the chance at a normal life, like Blaine did. As a result, Kurt was bullied every day. His life was threatened by Dave Karofsky, his first kiss had been stolen by the same closeted bully, and he was constantly slushied, although Blaine occasionally got slushies too, but only for being in the glee club, and he didn't receive them nearly as often as Kurt did.

All in all, Kurt was depressed. Not an "I'm sad and I'm gonna go cry in a corner" kind of depressed, but legitimate, "I'm wearing the same outfit twice in one week and eating ice cream and don't want to talk to anyone" kind of depressed. And if you know Kurt Hummel, none of those things are normal for him. He's fashionable, thin, and fiesty. Those are all traits that made up Kurt Hummel. Blaine knew this better than anyone, so, of course he noticed that something was wrong when Kurt called him up one day to tell him they're going to Baskin Robbins.

Blaine knew about the bullying. He knew about the death threats. He knew about the slushies. But what he didn't know is how it feels. He's hiding from it all. He can't relate. Of course he hates that he has to hide who is he from everyone but Kurt, but he's safe that way. He's also sheltered that way, and can't give Kurt the empathy he needs.

So yeah, Kurt tells Blaine what's going on, but he doesn't tell him how it's effecting him. He doesn't tell him that he's depressed. He doesn't tell him that he cries himself to sleep at night. He doesn't tell him that he's sick and tired of dealing with it all alone. He doesn't tell him he wishes he wasn't the only out gay kid at school. He doesn't tell him that he hates himself most days. And he most definitely doesn't tell him that he is one of the main sources of his depression.

You see, Kurt Hummel is in love with Blaine Anderson. His best friend. His confidant. His everything. But he can't tell him, because Blaine doesn't want people knowing that he is gay. Blaine wouldn't be able to return Kurt's feelings, even if he wanted to, which Kurt is about 99.9% sure he doesn't.

So Kurt doesn't let Blaine in, or his dad, or Carole, or Finn. He has his dad's heart to worry about, and Carole has problems of her own with Finn and adjusting to married life again, and while Finn has come miles since becoming his brother, there is only so much Finn can do to actually help. And he doesn't want to tell Blaine how bad it really is because things are pretty great with Blaine, and he doesn't want to screw that up by dragging all of his problems into the mix.

So Kurt just pines for Blaine from a distance, trying his best to hide how depressed he has become. They continue to have sleepovers. They walk to class together. They eat lunch together every so often (Blaine persists that they can't sit next to each other every day because he has other friends to sit with too, but Kurt knows it's because Blaine is scared to be associated with a gay guy). And then, every night, he comes back to his house and cries. And then cries some more.

But yeah, Kurt doesn't tell Blaine that.

So basically, Kurt is dealing with all of this on his own and keeping it bottled up to the point of his own demise. And it's really starting to take a toll on him.

But Blaine's not stupid. He knows his best friend. And he knows that something is seriously wrong. He just wishes he could figure out what.

Which is why he calls him after school one day. He was on a mission.

"Hey Blaine," Kurt says, answering the phone, knowing without looking at the caller i.d. that it would be Blaine. It's always Blaine.

"Hey Kurt! What are you doing tonight?"

Kurt resists the urge to respond with "moping" and says, instead,

"Nothing much. Hanging out with you, I presume?"

"You presume correctly, good sir! I'll be over in 10 minutes."

"See you then."

Sure enough, ten minutes later, Blaine shows up in Kurt's room. They're past ringing door bells. Blaine just lets himself in.

"Hey you!" Blaine shouts, jumping onto Kurt's bed, tackling Kurt who is laying there flipping through a Vogue magazine.

"Oh my gosh, get off of me! You may be small, but you're still broader than me. You're crushing me!" Kurt yelped.

Blaine sat back instantly, putting a hand over his heart and faking a shocked expression.

"Kurt! You wound me!"

"You'll give over it," Kurt replies, being snippy.

"Yeah, yeah. So what do you want to do today?" Blaine asks, getting up and walking to Kurt's movie collection, flipping through it.

"Nothing... I guess... I don't know. You choose."

Perfect, Blaine thought. He walked back over to the bed and sat down, staring at Kurt with a serious expression. After a few seconds of silence, Kurt looked up, only to be startled by the intense gaze Blaine was staring at him with.

"What? Do I have something on my face?" Kurt asked, brushing his hand around his mouth, making sure there was nothing there.

"Kurt... we need to talk."

"...Oh? Ok? What about?"

"What's wrong?"

This caught Kurt off-guard. That was the last thing he was expecting.

"What do you mean what's wrong?" Kurt asked, trying his best to fake a smile. But, of course, Blaine could see right through it.

"Don't even try that fake-smile on me, Kurt Hummel. I see right through you. I know that something has been bothering you lately, and I want to know what it is. So spill."

But Kurt wasn't giving in that easily.

"Blaine, I have no idea what you're talking about. You're obviously going crazy, because you are having these absurd delusions that something is wrong with me, when honestly I'm perfectly fine."

"Like hell you are. Tell me what's wrong, Kurt. We've always been completely honest with each other. Please let me in," Blaine begged.

And that hits Kurt hard, his smile faltering. They _had_ always been completely honest with one another, but Kurt just couldn't. He couldn't tell Blaine how badly he was hurting. He couldn't tell Blaine he was in love with him. He couldn't tell Blaine he wished he wasn't alone in all of this. Because all of those confessions would leave Blaine hurting, and he just couldn't do that to his best friend.

Blaine saw Kurt's smile falter, and reached out to take Kurt's hand.

"Kurt... please. What's wrong?"

"I- I can't tell you, Blaine. Please, understand that. This is my stuff. I just, I need to deal with this on my own. No... I _have_ to deal with it on my own."

"No you don't!" Blaine argued back. "You don't have to deal with it on your own. I can help! Let me help, Kurt."

"No," Kurt replied with finality. He refused to give in.

Blaine was silent, contemplating his options here. He finally gave in to just guessing. You see, Blaine, like Kurt, was stubborn. He refused to give up so quickly.

"Is it a boy?"

Kurt freezes.

"Oh... so it is a boy."

Did Blaine sound? No, he couldn't sound disappointed.

"I'm sorry, Kurt. I know it sucks crushing on a straight guy. Well, I mean, I'm assuming he's straight, since there aren't any other gay guys at McKinley, with the exception of Karofsky, and I highly doubt you're crushing on him."

Kurt nodded, grateful that Blaine hadn't figure out it was him he was in love with.

"Yeah... it sucks..." Kurt sighed.

Because, yeah, as far as the rest of the world knew, Blaine was a straight guy. Kurt was technically crushing on yet another straight guy.

"Well, is that all that's bothering you?" Blaine asked, just knowing there had to be more to it than that. Kurt had had his heart broken before, and it was nothing like this. There was definitely more going on than what Kurt was telling him.

"Yeah, sure. Let's just watch a movie, ok?"

Blaine, of course, didn't believe him, but decided Kurt wasn't going to crack today, so the only thing he could do was give in and watch a movie with him, in hopes that doing what Kurt wanted would make him feel somewhat better. Maybe the least he could do was distract him from his problems for a little while.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: **A new story! Yay! This one will be relatively short... I'm thinking about 5 chapters right now, but who knows. It could always end up longer. Also, the other chapters should be longer in length. For some reason, the first chapter of my stories is always super short...

Anyway... if you like it, let me know! Also, if you have any ideas/suggestion, let me know about those too! I love incorporating readers' ideas, because you guys are always so much more clever than I am! Haha. :)

Much love!


	2. Chapter 2

A few weeks later and not much had changed. Kurt was still depressed and Blaine is was desperately trying to figure out why.

But, in the meantime, Blaine was just trying to make Kurt feel better as much as he could. He was basically spoiling Kurt rotten any chance he got. He takes him out for ice cream, they have movie marathons every weekend, although there's nothing really new about that... except now Blaine lets Kurt pick out the movies every single time without complaint, and he even eats lunch with Kurt every day, despite the confused looks he gets from people outside of glee club. Scratch that... even a few glee club kids are confused. I mean, they know that Kurt and Blaine are best friends, but it was still odd to see Blaine being so forward about it outside of the club.

Kurt was confused by this, too.

"Blaine, what are you doing?" Kurt asked Blaine at lunch one day.

"I'm eating lunch with my best friend," Blaine replied, shrugging.

"Well, I know that. But why?"

"Because I want to. I want to be with you."

Woah. Kurt didn't realize how hard it would hit him to ever hear Blaine say those words to him. He knew Blaine didn't mean it in the context that Kurt wanted, but it still felt wonderful to hear those words come out of his mouth.

"Kurt? Are you okay? Helloooo?" Blaine shook Kurt out of his trance.

"Uh, yeah, sorry. What were you saying?"

"I was asking if you were going to Rachel's party tonight."

Kurt didn't even have to think about the answer to that. He didn't feel like doing much anything social lately. He just wanted to go straight home after school and be alone.

"No. You know I'm not."

"I figured as much. But, what you don't know is that you are going," Blaine said simply.

"Is that so?" Kurt asked, raising an eyebrow.

"It is. The whole glee club is invited, which means you're going, because you need to get out of your house and have some fun. I think this would be good for you, Kurt. I miss seeing you smile. I've been trying and trying and no matter what I do I can't seem to make you happy, so maybe the glee club will have a better shot. Regardless, you are going to this party, and that is the end of this discussion. I'll pick you up at 8," Blaine said, then turned away from Kurt to have a conversation with Sam.

Kurt let out a huff. Blaine could be so irritating sometimes. But he loved that about him. And that just frustrated him even more.

Blaine was at Kurt's house right at eight o'clock, just like he said he would be. He made sure Kurt was wearing a nice enough outfit and not trying to go in sweatpants (yeah, it freaked Blaine out that Kurt was at the point of not caring about his appearance enough to go to a party in sweatpants, too. This was _Kurt Hummel_ after all) and then the pair set off to Rachel's.

The second he entered the door, Kurt practically ran to the alcohol. If he was forced to go to this party, he was at least going to get wasted. Maybe it would help numb the pain for a little while.

Blaine, on the other hand, refused to touch a single drop of alcohol all night. Blaine didn't get drunk. He didn't trust himself to get drunk. He was scared of what might come out... literally.

So instead, Blaine followed Kurt around the party, trying to get him to dance or play party games, rather than just sit off to the side, downing shot after shot. But Kurt wouldn't listen.

"Kurt, come on. This needs to be your last one. You've had so many already. This isn't what I had in mind when I wanted you to come tonight," Blaine begged.

But Kurt just ignored him, pouring himself another drink.

"Blaine... I've never seen him act like this," Rachel said to Blaine, from where she was suddenly standing behind him. "Do you know what's wrong? I mean, you're his best friend. I figured if anyone knew, it would be you."

Blaine slowly turned around to face her, reluctant to take his eyes off of Kurt for even one second.

"I honestly don't know. I mean, I know about everything that's going on in his life right now... at least, I think I do... but he won't tell me what's upsetting him like this. I wish he would just let me in."

"He will when he's ready. But in the meantime, would you like to dance with me, Blaine Anderson?" Rachel asked, attempting to flirt. .

"Uhhh... Rachel, I don't know..."

"Come on. Kurt will be fine. I doubt he's leaving this corner anytime soon. Just one dance."

Blaine looked back over at Kurt, who was mixing himself another drink, completely unaware of anything going on around him, then turned back to Rachel.

"Fine. One dance," he sighed.

He led Rachel over to the dance floor and started dancing to an upbeat song with her. He tried to keep his distance, obviously not really liking Rachel in the same way she seemed to like him, and he didn't want to lead her on. But about halfway through the dance, Rachel grabbed Blaine's hands and placed them on her waist, pulling herself closer to him.

Which is when Kurt showed up, sloppily pushing Blaine away from Rachel, right in the middle of the dance floor.

"Kurt! What are you doing?" Blaine startled, turning around to see who had pushed him.

"Wu-what am iiiii doin'? What er youuuuu doin B-laine?" Kurt slurred, trying to push at Blaine's shoulder again, but missing.

"Come on, Kurt," Blaine said, gently, but forcibly, grabbing Kurt's hand and leading him out of the main room.

"Whe-whe-where are we goin?" Kurt asked, attempting to put up a fight.

"Your house. Away from the alcohol."

Kurt started giggling, much to Blaine's confusion.

"Alrighty then, Mr. Fie... fiest... Blaine."

Blaine just rolled his eyes and continued to carry Kurt toward the front door and to his car, much to the amusement of the glee club.

Blaine gently set Kurt in the passenger seat, buckled him in, then drove them back to Kurt's house, trying not to crash because of a very drunk Kurt in the front seat.

Blaine decided he would just have to spend the night so he could take care of Kurt. He couldn't believe he had let Kurt get so out of control.

When they got to Kurt's house, Blaine picked Kurt back up out of the car and carried him, bridal style. to his shower upstairs.

"Okay... I'm gonna leave you in here for a few minutes, and I want you to get in the shower to sober up." Blaine said, setting Kurt down, then quickly grabbing him again when Kurt started to fall. "Jesus, Kurt... you can't even walk right now. I mean, honestly, what were you thinking?"

But Kurt didn't answer. Kurt could barely even stand at that moment. So Blaine just sighed and helped Kurt strip down to his boxers, turned on the shower, then waited outside while Kurt cleaned off, listening carefully at the door to make sure Kurt managed without any trouble.

Five minutes later, he heard the water shut off, so he walked across the room to sit and wait on Kurt's bed.

Kurt came out a minute later, dressed in his dirty clothes, walking in a zig-zag line. Blaine figured that was progress. Kurt was still obviously drunk, and wouldn't remember anything in the morning, but maybe he would be able to have a coherent conversation now.

"Kurt, come sit on the bed with me. We need to talk."

Kurt stumbled over to the bed and plopped down with a loud thud. When Blaine looked over at him, he saw tears in Kurt's eyes.

"Kurt... tell me what's wrong. Please... I can't stand seeing you like this anymore," Blaine begged.

Kurt slowly looked over at Blaine, then let the tears flow.

"Blaine... I hate myself."

Blaine felt himself start to cry at this simple statement.

"I hate who I am. I hate the way everyone treats me. I hate that I'm gay. I hate my voice. I hate my appearance. I have zero self-confidence. I hate that I'm alone in all of this-"

"Kurt! You're not alone, though! I'm here!" Blaine interrupted.

"NO YOU'RE NOT!" Kurt shouted, suddenly angry. Blaine cowered back.

"You're not here! Don't you dare say that! You don't know what it's like! You don't know what it's like to be called a fag every day. You don't know what it's like to be bullied for something you can't change about yourself. You don't know what it's like to walk down the hallway every day and have people glare at you for no real reason. I don't care how much you say it sucks to hide who you really are... I wish every day I could be as lucky as you. I wish I could hide that easily. But I can't, and it's not fair."

It took Blaine a minute to respond to this. He didn't know what to say. He never realized Kurt felt this way. He never knew that Kurt felt so alone. He thought that since Kurt knew he wasn't actually alone, it would make it all better. But the more Blaine thought about it, Kurt was right. Kurt was alone in all of this. Blaine may be gay, but only to Kurt. No one else knew, and that wasn't fair.

"I'm... I'm sorry, Kurt. I'm so, so sorry," Blaine pleaded.

"I know you are," Kurt sighed in defeat. "That's what makes this so hard. You're so nice to me all the time and it's just not fair. "Why do you have to be so fucking wonderful to me? Why did you have to make me fall in love with you, only to pretend to be straight to the rest of the world? The one guy I want is actually gay and I still can't have him. I HATE YOU!" Kurt yelled, angry again.

"...Kurt. Wha- Don't..." Blaine stuttered, completely in shock by every word Kurt had just shouted.

"No! Just, shut up! I hate you! I hate you, I hate you, I hate you!" Kurt was crying even harder now. Blaine pulled him into a hug, whispering soothing words to try to make Kurt feel better. He held him there until Kurt eventually cried himself to sleep.

And then it was just Blaine and his thoughts.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: **So remember that time I said the other chapters would be longer... yeah... about that...

But, also remember that time I said the story would only be 5 chapters? Well, I've already up'd it to at least 7, so maybe that will make up for the short chapters.

But yeah... sorry this is so short! But there will be more super soon. I promise. Because I'm really excited about the next chapter. :)

Hope you guys liked this chapter!


	3. Chapter 3

When Blaine realized Kurt had fallen asleep, he looked down at the peaceful boy and just stared. He couldn't look away. Sure, Kurt and Blaine have had sleepovers so many times they'd lost count, but tonight felt different. Everything was different. Kurt had confessed to being in love with Blaine.

_Kurt Hummel _confessed to being in _love_ with _Blaine Anderson_.

This thought was running on repeat in Blaine's mind. He couldn't shake it away. He didn't want to, either.

Blaine was conflicted. He was upset and confused and sad and elated and on top of the world. He just couldn't believe it. Kurt Hummel, his best friend in the entire world, was in love with him.

Sure, Kurt wouldn't remember saying this to Blaine in the morning, but now Blaine knew, and that's all that mattered.

But now Blaine needed to figure out what to do. He already knew how he felt... he was in love with the boy in his arms. He knew that without a doubt. He had been since he was a young child and understood the things he was feeling for his best friend. But he had never acted on it before. He couldn't. He was terrified of coming out. He knew what happened to guys who came out in Ohio. Their lives became a living hell. He had seen it happen first-hand to Kurt. And it killed him to watch. But Kurt had courage that Blaine lacked. Kurt was strong.

Or so he thought.

Which brought Blaine's mind back to Kurt's confession of depression and self-hatred. That had broken Blaine's heart. He obviously knew that Kurt was hurting and suffering, but it was because of his sexuality? Because of the bullies? Because he thought Blaine couldn't return his love?

But then again, Blaine didn't even know if he could return his love. Obviously, he returned the sentiment, but could he act on it? Could he take that leap of faith? Could he risk it all for his best friend? He knew the answer should be yes, but that didn't change the fact that he was scared shitless.

And how was Blaine supposed to support Kurt and make him feel better if he didn't understand what Kurt was going through? He had never been there. Kurt was right... Blaine was lucky. Blaine was able to get away with hiding from the world. Blaine was tired of hiding. He had been tired of hiding for a while now. And now it would be even harder to do knowing that Kurt was in love with him, too. He could actually act on his feelings now if he could just man up and face his fears. And by doing that, he could also help ease Kurt's depression.

So there... it seemed like Blaine had his answer. The solution to all of his problems. He needed to _face_ his problems instead of run from them. It could solve everything. And then destroy everything simultaneously.

Blaine was terrified. Love, alone, is a scary thing. "Forbidden" love... even worse. Why couldn't people just be accepting? It could fix so many of his and Kurt's problems.

Blaine finally glanced up from Kurt and realized that the sun had risen outside. And then he heard some noise downstairs in the kitchen. Burt must be up already, Blaine thought.

And that's when it hit Blaine. Burt. Burt was the most accepting person he had ever met in Ohio, apart from Kurt. If he was going to get advice from anyone, it would be Burt. If anyone could help him see with a clear head, it would be Burt. If he was going to come out to anyone without fear of being rejected and hated, it would be Burt. It looked like Blaine had finally found someone to talk to.

Blaine carefully slid out of bed, making sure Kurt wasn't unsettled, then made his way downstairs into the kitchen, where Burt and Carole were working on breakfast together. They didn't seem to notice his presence, so he cleared his throat to get their attention.

"Oh!" Carole started. "Hi there, Blaine. I see you spent the night. You boys have fun last night?"

"Ummm... well..." Blaine started.

"Is everything okay, kid?" Burt asked.

"No," Blaine answered simply.

Burt and Carole automatically went into panic mode.

"Is it Kurt? Is he okay? What happened? Are you okay?" The pair shouted over one another.

"Woah, woah! Calm down! It's nothing like that. We're both physically fine," Blaine reassured, having to talk over the couple to get them to settle down. "I just... is it okay if I talk to Burt alone for a few minutes, Carole?"

Carole looked over at Burt, who nodded at her, then she quickly left the kitchen so the two men could talk.

Blaine waited a few seconds after Carole left to make sure he and Burt were completely alone, then simply started with, "Kurt told me he's in love with me."

"Ahhh... so he finally fessed up. I always had my suspicions. Out of curiosity, what did you say in return?" Burt asked, hoping Blaine wasn't upset because of his son's confession.

"I didn't..."

Both men sat there silently for a few minutes. Burt was waiting patiently for Blaine to speak, knowing that there was something bothering him that he was working on talking about. Blaine was trying to gather the courage to speak. Finally, Blaine gave in.

"Burt... I have something I need to tell you..." Blaine hesitated. "I'm gay."

"I have to be honest, Blaine. I'm not really surprised. And, just for the record, I still love you just as much as I did before. But I have to ask, does Kurt know this?"

"Yeah...he does. He's always known," Blaine paused again. "There's something else I need to get off my chest, too."

Burt nodded for Blaine to continue.

"I'm in love with your son. I have been since I was 11 years old. It's always been him. Only him."

"Again, I'm not surprised. And again, does Kurt know this?" Burt asked, patting Blaine on the back.

"No. He doesn't know. But he's in love with me, and now that I know he feels the same way about me, I want to be with him. I've always wanted to be with him... god, no wonder Kurt is so upset. He fell in love with a jerk who did nothing but stand by for years and watch him suffer." Blaine furiously rubbed the back of his hand across his eyes, willing the tears not to fall. "What did I do to deserve someone so wonderful to fall in love with me? I just... I don't know what to do."

"Kid... I know this is where I'm supposed to go on this threatening lecture to you about taking care of my son and getting your act together and not breaking his heart, but, honestly, you're as much my son as he is. Hell, you two grew up together. I've known you practically forever. So I'm gonna tell you to not break _your _heart. I can't tell you what decision to make- to come out and be with my son and deal with the cruelty of the real world, or live a lie and break both your hearts. I know both are pretty awful, either way. But I _can_ tell you that love conquers all. And if you truly love Kurt, then it will hurt way more to not be with him than to deal with the harshness of people who don't matter. And just for the record, you're not a jerk. You're just young. You're still figuring this all out. But I think my son picked someone wonderful to love."

"Thanks, Burt."

"Anytime, kid."

With that, Burt pulled Blaine into a quick hug, trying his best to convey his love and comfort to the young man. They were interrupted by Kurt coming downstairs for coffee.

"Morning," Kurt greeted in a rough voice, hungover and sleepy.

"Hey, kiddo. How you doing this morning?" Burt asked, pulling out of the embrace with Blaine.

It was then that Kurt took in the sight in the kitchen. His dad and Blaine were hugging. What in the world had he just interrupted?

"I'm fine. What's up with you two?" Kurt asked.

Burt just looked over at Blaine, a questioning look on his face. Blaine smiled and nodded at him. Then Burt gave Blaine a knowing look and smiled at Kurt. And now Kurt was even more confused than ever.

"Seriously... you guys need to stop talking in body language code and just tell me what's going on," Kurt whined, wincing at the sound of his own voice. He seriously needed coffee, and fast.

"I just came out to your dad," Blaine said, a huge grin on his face.

Kurt froze.

"Did you hear me, Kurt? I said I just came out to your dad," Blaine repeated.

Okay. And now Kurt was reacting.

"Oh my god! Blaine! Are you serious? I can't believe this. Oh my god! I'm so proud of you! I lo- I mean, I'm so happy for you! This is great!" Kurt exclaimed, jumping up and down, then running over to Blaine and enveloping him in an enormous hug. Blaine tightly wrapped his arms around him and held him close**. **

Burt gave Blaine another knowing smile from behind Kurt's shoulder, then quietly exited the kitchen, leaving the boys alone, trusting in Blaine to make the right decision.

* * *

><p><strong>AN:** So... there ya go! Blaine's in love with Kurt too! Mad props to **bjaarcy** for basically writing my entire next chapter in her review. Haha. I had already written this chapter before she reviewed and I was just like, "woah... she's good."

Next up: Blaine struggles with being the man Kurt has always deserved. Will he be able to make the right decision? Or will he just hurt Kurt even more?


	4. Chapter 4

Come Monday morning, Blaine was ready for some changes in his life. Small changes, mind you. But changes nonetheless. He was going to do everything in his power to show Kurt that he is worth it. To show Kurt that he cares about him.

Just like Blaine figured, Kurt had zero recollection of Rachel's party. Blaine filled him in on most of the missing details, but left out the part where Kurt spilled his guts to him while crying on his bed. Blaine would tell Kurt about that one day, as it was only fair, but Blaine needed to make things right between them first.

So, on Monday morning, when the hall had cleared up a bit, Blaine reached out and took hold of Kurt's hand. Blaine felt Kurt stiffen and look over at him, a confused expression on his face, but Blaine ignored it. He was too busy glancing around the hallway, making sure no one had spotted his bold action. When he saw someone start to look his way, he quickly let go of Kurt's hand. When the coast was clear, he reached out to take Kurt's hand again, but Kurt was gone. He had walked ahead of Blaine.

'Shit,' Blaine thought. He had already screwed this up.

Blaine walked with Kurt to every single class that day. He sat with him at lunch, holding his hand under the table where no one could see. Kurt, again, shot Blaine questioning looks all throughout lunch, but Blaine continued to ignore them.

Later in the day, right before glee club, Blaine saw Azimo, with a slushy in hand, headed toward Kurt, who was currently standing at his locker, fixing his hair.

Blaine took a second to just stare. Kurt looked beautiful today. Then again, Kurt looked beautiful every day. He always put so much care into his outfits and appearance. It would be a shame to see it ruined by a red-dyed slushy.

But wait... it didn't have to be ruined. Blaine had decided to not stand by anymore. He would do something about it. Now. Any second now... yep. He was gonna do something about it. He would be the hero and save Kurt. He would stand up to the bullies. He was definitely going to- SHIT.

He was too late. Azimo had thrown the slushy all over an unsuspecting Kurt. While Blaine had stood by and watched. Again. God did Blaine feel like an ass.

He ran over to Kurt, pulling him gently into the women's restroom that was nearby.

"Oh, Kurt. I'm so sorry. Are you okay? Did it get in your eyes/ Here, let me help you clean this off," Blaine urged.

"It's fine, Blaine. I'm used to it. I think I'm gonna skip glee practice today and just head home. Will you tell Mr. Schuester I'm just not feeling well?" Kurt asked, in a dead voice. It broke Blaine's heart.

Here Blaine was, completely in love with his best friend, who loved him back, and nothing had changed. He was still just standing in the background while Kurt was being bullied and driven into depression.

"Can I at least drive you home?" Blaine asked, not knowing what else to do.

"No, Blaine. I just want to be alone, okay?" Kurt sighed.

"Okay... Kurt, I'm just so, so sorry. You don't deserve this. You are too wonderful a person to have this happen to you. It should have been me..."

"Yeah, well it wasn't. It was me. It's always me... you know what, just forget it. Like I said, I'm going home. I'll see you tomorrow, Blaine."

And with that, Kurt was gone. And Blaine was left alone in the bathroom, trying to hold back tears. Day one and he had already screwed up royally.

Tomorrow would be better. He was sure of it.

But tomorrow wasn't better. Nor was the day after. Or even the day after that. You see, even though Blaine was completely in love, he was still scared shitless. This was his whole life that could change because of just one tiny action. Or one small word. Everything Blaine had worked for his entire life would be gone. And this held him back. It scared him out of his mind. He knew his love for Kurt should outweigh it all, but it didn't change the fact that he was scared.

Blaine had done a little better on Thursday, by jumping in front of a slushy for Kurt. But when the jocks asked Blaine what the hell he was thinking, Blaine just shrugged, saying he hadn't seen them there and just accidentally walked into it.

This heroic action, however, was not missed by Kurt. And Blaine could tell that his action had made Kurt happier. Blaine also continued to hold Kurt's hand under the table during lunch, which had confused Kurt at first, but now made him ecstatic. He tried to hide it from Blaine, but Blaine was his best friend, so of course he noticed. But, for his best friend's sake, he pretended like everything was completely normal.

Kurt had become noticeably happier that week, even if everything Blaine did was in secret. But Kurt was in love with him, and Blaine was giving him all of this undivided attention, which was making Kurt feel pretty good right about now. But still... everything Blaine did _was in secret_. Sure, he ran the risk of getting caught, but, so far, he hadn't been. He was still in the same position he had been in before. He was a coward.

Which is exactly why on Friday, when Blaine crossed Kurt being cornered by Karofsky and his friends in the hall, he decided it was time to man up and step in.

"Ummm... hey... you guys..." Blaine said in a meek voice, slowly approaching the group.

"I'm sorry, what was that? Were you trying to say something? Because we're kind of in the middle of something right now, pretty boy, and we would hate to have to get you involved," Karofsky responded, glaring at Blaine, then immediately turning his attention back to Kurt.

Blaine just stood there. Staring. Just like he always had. He turned to walk away, but stopped when he heard Kurt whimper a small "please." Blaine didn't know if it was directed at him or at the bullies, but either way, it hit him hard.

_Blaine was only eleven years old. He wasn't supposed to fall in love yet. And he was pretty sure that he wasn't supposed to fall in love with his best friend. He remembered his parents saying it was wrong for to men to kiss one another. And people at school didn't seem to like it so much. But he couldn't help what he felt. He was in love with this best friend. He was absolutely sure of it._

_Blaine was pretty sure Kurt liked boys too. He didn't know how he knew... but he just did. He and Kurt were best friends, so if anyone would just know, it would be Blaine. This was confirmed one day after school when they were in Kurt's bedroom. Kurt started talking about a boy in their class... his name was Finn. Blaine sat there and listened to every word, trying to be the best friend, while hiding his broken heart. _

_When Kurt finished, Blaine accidentally started talking about how beautiful Kurt's eyes were, but covered it up by not saying Kurt's name. He just said it was a boy in their class. Kurt easily accepted this, and they went back to playing dress-up._

_A week later was when they were confronted by Karofsky for holding hands. Blaine was on top of the world when he held Kurt's hand. He always felt like he was invincible. He was sure it would always be his favorite thing to do. That is, until Karofsky pushed Kurt down. _

_Blaine froze in fear. He had no idea the bullies would take it this far. If Karofsky was willing to push Kurt down for holding Blaine's hand, then what could happen in the future? What if Blaine ever asked to be Kurt's boyfriend? Or kissed him? What would the bullies do then? Would they be bigger and older? Could they actually end up hurting him, or worse, Kurt. _

_It was in that moment that Blaine decided he would do whatever it took to be safe. He wouldn't tell his parents his love for Kurt, he wouldn't hold hands with boys anymore, and he most definitely wouldn't give anyone reason to believe he was gay. He would always keep Kurt in the loop, of course, because they were best friends, and that's what best friends do. And he knew that Kurt would never hurt him for being gay, because Kurt was gay, too. By keeping it a secret, he would be keeping them safe._

This was wrong. Everything about this was all wrong. 11 year old Blaine was an idiot, Blaine decided. He had been wrong to think his secret would keep him and Kurt safe and happy, because Kurt was hurt daily, which hurt Blaine as a result. Things were about to change around here.

Blaine was still scared shitless, but it didn't matter anymore. He had to do this for the boy he loved. Kurt needed him, and, for once, he was going to be there.

Blaine quickly turned back to Kurt and walked to stand in front of him, putting his arms out protectively.

"I'm sorry. What I was trying to say before was that you need to back the hell off," Blaine snarled. He was seeing red.

"...Are you serious right now? Why would you want to protect this little fairy?"

"Because he's my friend. Also, call him a fairy again and see what happens. And if you don't back off _right now_ I swear to god..."

The bullies quickly got the message. Blaine may be small in size, but it was obvious that he was not someone they wanted to mess with.

Kurt was in shock. He was literally shaking, both from the confrontation with the bullies, and from what had just happened with Blaine.

"Blaine... I- I don't get it. What are you doing?"

"The right thing for once in my life."

Blaine was going to tell Kurt that he loved him back. He just had to do something else first. Something big.

"Come on. Let's go to glee," Blaine said, taking Kurt's hand, not even caring who noticed. It wouldn't matter soon, anyway.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: **Soooo, eleven year old Blaine is an idiot. But I mean, come on. He was eleven. He wasn't exactly mature yet. But Blaine's starting to realize his mistakes and make up for it.

What's he gonna do next? SOMETHING BIG. You'll have to wait and find out... :)

Hope you liked this chapter, and thank you for all of your wonderful reviews!


	5. Chapter 5

When Blaine and Kurt entered the choir room, they received quite a few confused stares. Blaine was still tightly holding on to Kurt's hand, intertwining their fingers together. But neither of them seemed to care about the stares. Which confused Kurt to no end. He had no idea what was going on in Blaine's head.

Blaine had been acting so differently all week. He had held his hand under the lunch table, which was certainly not unwelcome. And then there was the time he walked in front of a slushy for him. Blaine claimed to the bullies that it was an accident, but Kurt knew better.

Kurt and Blaine always spent time together, since they were best friends, but it seemed like Blaine was going above and beyond this week. He was finally coming through for Kurt. And Kurt had no idea what to make of it.

Kurt was so proud of Blaine when he came out to his dad. He knew that Blaine couldn't come out to his own parents any time soon, because they were less than supportive of Kurt being gay, so no way would they like for their own son to be gay, and Kurt would hate to see Blaine get hurt because of it. But for Blaine to come out to Burt... that was huge. Kurt had never been so happy. Sure, he was still sad that the bullies had it out for him, and that he was in love with his best friend with no chance of it being returned, but Blaine had made things somewhat better. Life was bearable once again.

Blaine had always been Kurt's source of happiness, even when he was inadvertently causing pain by staying in the closet, so Blaine's recent actions were just taking Kurt to a whole new level of happiness.

And then they just walked down the hall and into the choir room together, hand in hand. Did best friends do that? Especially two gay best friends? Even if no one knew that one of them was gay... it was so out of character for Blaine. Kurt was anxious to see what Blaine would do next.

But Kurt didn't have to wait long, because the second they walked into the choir room, Blaine walked right up to Mr. Schuester and announced that he had something he needed to sing.

Mr. Schuester let him, of course, and Blaine walked up to the front of the choir room, whispered what song he would be singing to Brad, then began singing, a look of pure terror on his face. His voice started off shaky, but when he got to the chorus, he met Kurt's eyes and completely transitioned. At the chorus, he was full of confidence and concern and passion. It was so great for Kurt to see Blaine just let go like this.

**You're not alone  
>Together we stand<br>I'll be by your side, **

**You know I'll take your hand  
>When it gets cold<br>And it feels like the end  
>There's no place to go<br>You know I won't give in  
>No I won't give in<strong>

**Keep holding on**  
><strong>'Cause you know we'll make it through, we'll make it through<strong>  
><strong>Just stay strong<strong>

**'Cause you know I'm here for you, I'm here for you  
>There's nothing you could say<br>Nothing you could do  
>There's no other way when it comes to the truth<br>So keep holding on  
>'Cause you know we'll make it through, we'll make it through<strong>

**So far away**  
><strong>I wish you were here<strong>  
><strong>Before it's too late, this could all disappear<strong>  
><strong>Before the doors close<strong>  
><strong>And it comes to an end<strong>  
><strong>With you by my side I will fight and defend<strong>  
><strong>I'll fight and defend<strong>  
><strong>Yeah, yeah<strong>

**Keep holding on**  
><strong>'Cause you know we'll make it through, we'll make it through<strong>  
><strong>Just stay strong<strong>  
><strong>'Cause you know I'm here for you, I'm here for you<strong>  
><strong>There's nothing you could say<strong>  
><strong>Nothing you could do<strong>  
><strong>There's no other way when it comes to the truth<strong>  
><strong>So keep holding on<strong>  
><strong>'Cause you know we'll make it through, we'll make it through<strong>

**Hear me when I say, when I say I believe**  
><strong>Nothing's gonna change, nothing's gonna change destiny<strong>  
><strong>Whatever's meant to be will work out perfectly<strong>  
><strong>Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah<strong>

**Keep holding on**  
><strong>'Cause you know we'll make it through, we'll make it through<strong>  
><strong>Just stay strong<strong>  
><strong>'Cause you know I'm here for you, I'm here for you<strong>  
><strong>There's nothing you could say<strong>  
><strong>Nothing you could do<strong>  
><strong>There's no other way when it comes to the truth<strong>  
><strong>So keep holding on<strong>  
><strong>'Cause you know we'll make it through, we'll make it through<strong>

**Keep holding on**  
><strong>Keep holding on<strong>

**There's nothing you could say**  
><strong>Nothing you could do<strong>  
><strong>There's no other way when it comes to the truth<strong>  
><strong>So keep holding on<strong>  
><strong>'Cause you know we'll make it through, we'll make it through<strong>

"I'm gay."

Just like that. Blaine said it. Like it was was the most sure and factual thing he could say.

Kurt broke into tears. He ran up to Blaine and wrapped him in the tightest hug he could. It was then that he realized Blaine was crying, too.

And that's when the rest of the room got up and joined in the hug.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: **Shortest chapter in the existence of chapters! But I gave you two today, so there! :)

I just really like Blaine singing this song to Kurt, all emotional and terrified of what he's about to say, because he totally knows he's about to come out to the Glee Club, and who knows where it could go from there, and OMG he's just so brave and he's doing it all for Kurt and I just really love Blaine, okay? :D

Hope you guys like this. More angst to come. But then there will be massive fluff in the last chapter, which will be chapter 7.

Review?

OH! Also, shout-out to **uriah cullen** for knowing me so well. Or knowing Blaine so well. Whichever. Because yes, Blaine sang to Kurt. In fact, that's all he did this chapter. Haha. So right on!


	6. Chapter 6

Of course, the whole school ended up finding out about Blaine's secret. The glee club didn't mean to tell everyone, but word still had a way of getting out. News this big always got out. After all, they had the entire weekend to let word spread.

Needless to say, Blaine spent the weekend at Kurt's house, freaking out. He was having second thoughts, then resisting the urge to just jump into Kurt's arms and kiss him, then back to being terrified of what the bullies would do to him, to being angry at himself for not coming out sooner, to being angry at himself for coming out all. Simply put, he was completely at war with himself.

"Kurt... what do I do? I can't believe they know. The glee club was so accepting, too. Which I should have known they would be, because they all love you. But no one else will be accepting. Oh god. What if someone tries to hurt me. What if someone tries to hurt you? What if things won't get better. What if it actually gets worse for us? Kurt, oh god... I'm so scared. I don't know what to do..."

Kurt was being wonderful about the entire situation. The tables had completely turned. Blaine was now the depressed one, and Kurt was doing everything in his power to spoil his best friend rotten. They spent the entire weekend locked in Kurt's bedroom, watching musical after musical, eating ice cream, and just holding one another, Kurt whispering soothing words into Blaine's ear, while Blaine cried onto his shoulder.

"Shhhh. Blaine, it's going to be okay. You did great. You were wonderful. Everything is going to be fine now because we are going to deal with this together, okay? I won't let anyone hurt you, and I know you'll do the same for me. You don't have to hide now. We can face this together. I will always be there for you, Blaine. Everything is going to be okay."

Blaine was more in love with Kurt than ever. He still had plans to tell Kurt that he was in love with him, but he couldn't do it just yet. He was too shaken. He wanted the moment to be right and special. He wanted it to be sincere and happy. Not full of foreboding. He wouldn't tell Kurt when he was freaking out like this. It just wouldn't be fair to either of them.

So Blaine kept silent, except for his ramblings about how terrified he was, and just let Kurt try to talk him down. He listened to Kurt talk about the new Vogue. He listened to Kurt compare Katy Perry and Lady Gaga. He listened to Kurt explain Wicked to him. He listened to Kurt sing him songs of comfort. He listened to Kurt and let himself feel more and more at ease.

Finally, around Sunday night, Blaine had accepted what was going to happen. He had accepted that he had come out to the glee club and that word was most definitely going to get out by the time he went back to school the next morning. And he had accepted his fate. He had accepted this because of Kurt. Kurt had shown him during the weekend that at least one part of his life would remain constant and familiar. He would always have Kurt in his life, and that gave him the strength and courage he needed to face the school in the morning.

But it didn't mean that he wasn't terrified of actually facing it.

But, sure enough, Monday came way sooner than Blaine wanted it to. The second Blaine and Kurt walked into school, hand in hand, Blaine was called a fag by at least three different people. Blaine tried his best not to cringe, and just kept walking. But he couldn't ignore it when a bully came out of nowhere and slammed Blaine into a locker, knocking his hand out of Kurt's.

"HEY! Don't you touch him!" Kurt shouted, stepping in-between Blaine and the bully. The bully scowled at Kurt, but then walked away, calling them both fairies over his shoulder.

Blaine felt the tears welling up in his eyes. Kurt noticed, and dragged Blaine into an empty classroom nearby.

"It sucks, I know. I'm sorry. You're just going to have to get used to it now. I wish it didn't have to be this way," Kurt attempted to soothe Blaine, rubbing his arms gently.

"No, it's not that. I don't care what they call me. I'm done worrying what other people think. It's just... you're here. You're taking care of me. You just stood up for me. And I can't believe I never did that for you. I'm a shitty person. I'm so sorry. You shouldn't be so kind to me. I don't deserve it."

"Hey, no! Don't say that! I understand. I get why you did it. To be honest, if I had the opportunity to run and hide, I would have done the same thing. And it's not like you weren't there for me at all. You just weren't there at school. But when I really needed you, you were always there for me, in some way, shape, or form. You were there when it counted. You cared about me when no one else did. You helped me get by. I think if I didn't have you all those years, I wouldn't have made it as long as I did. And now... Blaine, I'm just so proud of you. So don't you dare feel bad. I lo-" Kurt cut himself off, glancing nervously at Blaine to see if he had caught his near slip-up.

Blaine knew what Kurt was going to say, because Kurt had already told him once. And Blaine figured it was about time he told Kurt that he returned the sentiment. But just not yet. He still had to make it perfect. So, for the time being, Blaine acted like he hadn't noticed Kurt's almost slip-up.

"Can we hang out after school today, again?" Blaine asked, wiping the tears from his eyes.

"Of course."

And with that, Blaine gave Kurt a quick hug, a kiss on the cheek, then grabbed his hand in his again. He then walked out of the classroom toward his first class, hand in hand with the boy he loved, ready to face the world.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: **You guys.. I have no idea what I'm doing with this story anymore. Hahaha. Everything is going according to plan so far, but I'm not sure how I'm going to do the next chapter. The next one should be the last... but since I don't know how I'm going to write it yet, who knows.

Soooo... spare me a few days to let inspiration hit. Who knows, it could hit tonight, or it could hit in 4 days. Either way... stick with me. I'll make it super quality. I promise.

In the mean time... reviews? Suggestions? Be my muse? Hahaha. Love you guys!

**(Sooo... it's me again. Editing this 5 minutes after I originally posted it. Inspiration just hit. Expect the last chapter in a day or two.) This gonna be good :)**


	7. Chapter 7

Monday after school, Blaine couldn't get to Kurt's house fast enough. He needed a distraction from school and all the hate he had received throughout the day. He just needed to be with Kurt. And, most of all, they just really needed to talk. At the moment, they were just casually flipping through magazines, while Blaine tried to get the courage to say what he needed to say.

"Sooo... I don't really know how to even start this conversation, but there's something you need to know," Blaine started, nervously.

And now Blaine wasn't the only one who was nervous.

"Ummm... okay?" Kurt questioned more than answered.

"I'm telling you this because we have always been completely honest with one another, and neither of us have been honest lately. And we should talk about that."

Ok. And now Kurt was completely freaking out. He just remained silent, not trusting himself to speak, and waited for Blaine to continue.

"So, you remember Rachel's party, about a week ago? Where you got completely wasted and blacked out."

Kurt nodded, repressing a groan at all the possible things running through his mind that could have happened. What if he had made an idiot out of himself. What if he had tried to make a move on Blaine. Or worse, what if he had told Blaine that he was in love with him? Oh god...

"Well... I know you know you talk when you're drunk, so I don't even have to tell you that. So I'm just gonna skip right to what you said to me."

Kurt gulped. Oh god... here we go.

"You told me you were depressed, which, let's be honest, I already knew. You don't have to be your best friend to have figured that one out. But then you told me why you were depressed. You said you hated yourself. You said that you hated that you were gay. You hated everything about you. And you felt lonely. You were tired of being the only gay kid and you hated me for not coming out."

And oh. Wow. Kurt definitely hadn't expected that last one. In fact, that was the last thing he thought he might have spilled to Blaine.

"Blaine-" Kurt started, but was cut off by Blaine.

"No, Kurt. Just wait. Let me finish. I already know that you don't hate me, so we don't even have to address that one. I understand that you were upset and drunk, and never would have said that if you weren't so angry, so forgive and forget, ok?"

Kurt nodded.

"Now... as for the other stuff. In case you haven't pieced it together yet, I came out. You're not alone anymore, ok? So that's one less thing I want you to worry about."

And suddenly, Kurt was able to piece it all together.

"Blaine, did you come out because of me?"

"I did."

The way Blaine said that... like he was so sure of himself... wow. It hit Kurt, and it hit him hard, and he was pretty sure he was falling in love with his best friend all over again.

"Blaine... I-"

"No. It's ok. I wanted to do that for you. Ok? I don't regret it. I'm glad that I could do that, because I just want you to be happy. I'm sorry it took me so long to get my act together. You deserve better than that, and don't ever think differently."

Kurt nodded. It seemed that was all he was able to do right now.

"Now, about the other stuff. Why didn't you tell me you were so upset? Why didn't you tell me what was bothering you? That you... that you hated yourself, Kurt? That's horrible! You shouldn't have to feel that way. And you should have been able to come to me about it, without getting drunk first. It hurts me that you felt that way for so long and felt like you couldn't talk to anyone about it."

"Blaine... I just... I don't know. I felt so alone and scared. And like I told you today in school, I never really was completely alone. I just felt that way since, as far as everyone at school knew, I _was _alone. They didn't know that I had you. So it made me feel alone. I was singled out in a school full of people. I was a single target and it hurt. All of that hate was sent my way every day, and, eventually, it just got to me. I don't know... I never wanted to think that the bullies could effect me that way, but they did. They changed the way I thought about myself and cracked through my confidence until it felt like there was none of me left."

"Please tell me you feel differently now. Please, Kurt." Blaine begged, his heart breaking for his best friend. "I never want you to think poorly of yourself. You are so incredible and strong and wonderful, and no one should ever have the power to take that away from you."

"I do feel differently now, thanks to you. You have been incredible to me, Blaine. Especially this past week. Every little thing you did for me to show that you cared... it reminded me that I was special and worth it and that I wasn't alone. It reminded me that it was okay to be who I was, because someone loved me for me, just the way I am. I promise you, I feel differently. And if I ever get depressed again, I promise to tell you immediately, ok?"

"Ok. And again, Kurt, I'm so sorry it all progressed this far before I could make it better. I should have made it better..."

"You did, Blaine. It's ok. No, it's better than ok. It's great. I promise. You are perfect, just the way you are."

Blaine smiled at Kurt, and hugged him tightly.

Now that they had that conversation out of the way, he was ready. He needed to be with Kurt. He needed to tell him he was in love with him. He just had to figure out the perfect way to tell him.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: **FOOLED YOU! You guys thought this would be the love confession, didn't you? Oh man I'm terrible.

To make it up to you, I'm writing another chapter. Turns out I wasn't ready for this story to end just yet... :)


	8. Chapter 8

It was now Thursday afternoon, and Kurt and Blaine were in Kurt's bedroom, working on homework. Blaine still hadn't confessed his feelings to Kurt, but he finally had a plan. And now, it had been a week since Blaine came out to glee club, and, through glee club, the rest of the school. He feels like he's taken time to get adjusted and let it all settle in. So now he's ready to tell Kurt about how he feels. But first, he needed to talk to Burt.

"Hey, I'll be right back. I'm just gonna go grab a snack from the kitchen," Blaine said, excusing himself from his best friend's room.

"Yeah, ok. Bring me something, too!" Kurt said, then turned his attention back to mathematics.

Blaine headed down the stairs, and found Burt in the living room, watching a football game. He cleared his throat to get his attention.

"Blaine! How are ya? Something I can do for ya?" Burt asked, quickly glancing away from the tv, only to turn his attention back to the game a second later.

"Yes... actually. I know you're not gonna be a fan of this, but I need to ask you a favor?" Blaine said, nervously wringing his hands.

"Ok... shoot." Burt said, muting the tv and turning his whole attention to Blaine now.

"I'm going to tell Kurt. That I'm in love with him, I mean. I'm sure he's told you by now that I came out to the school. I'm out. I'm ready. I want to tell him. I _need_ to tell him..."

Burt nodded slowly.

"He _did _tell me. And let me tell _you_... he was very excited and very touched that you did that. He also told me that you did it for him. I'm proud of you, son. And I think it's great that you two are finally going to be together. You two deserve to have each other to lean on. But why did you say I'm not going to be a fan of this? You know I support you being with Kurt."

"Well... Burt... I want to have the house to myself tomorrow night so I can tell him. I have it all planned out in my head, and I just want us to have some privacy-"

"No."

"No?" Blaine asked, disappointed that Burt wasn't agreeing.

"No. I will not leave two teenage boys alone in this house to confess their love for one another. I'm not about to let you take advantage of my son," Burt argued, sounding resolute in his decision. But Blaine wouldn't give in that easily.

"No, Burt... I'm not going to take advantage of him. I only plan on kissing him. I promise. That's it. This has been a long time in the making, but it's still new for me and Kurt as a couple... I want to take everything slow with him. I promise. You can trust me with Kurt. I love him. I'm not going to pressure him into doing anything he's uncomfortable with."

And then silence took over the room as Burt thought over what Blaine had said to him. Finally, after a minute, Burt began nodding.

"Fine. But if I find out you did anything inappropriate in my house, you will have to suffer the consequences."

Blaine smiled and agreed, then turned to walk out of the room to head back upstairs to Kurt, after stopping in the kitchen to grab them a quick snack first, of course. But he was stopped by Burt's voice again.

"Blaine... I'm so proud of you, son. And I'm happy for you. You take care of my boy."

"Thank you. I will."

They smiled at one another, and then Blaine left the room, working out the fine details of his plan in his head.

The next day, Blaine skipped school. He headed over to Kurt's house shortly after he knew Kurt and Finn would leave for school, but before Burt would head off to work so he could let him inside.

He knocked on the door, and Burt answered.

"I was just on my way out. I'll be taking Carole out to dinner tonight, and we won't be back until late, and I paid Finn to spend the night at a friend's house after school, which, of course, he agreed to. He was pretty confused as to why I was paying him, though... but I'll let you explain that later," Burt explained, as he gathered his coat and keys and made his way outside.

"Sounds good. Thank you again for doing this, Burt. I owe you."

"It's no problem. It's worth it to see Kurt so happy. You do good tonight, you hear?" Burt said, patting Blaine on the shoulder.

"I will. See you later!"

And then the door shut, and Blaine set to work.

He pulled out supplies from the large duffel bag he had brought with him. He had at least 30 pictures of him and Kurt together throughout the years, starting from when they were toddlers, all the way to current day. He took a few moments to just stare at the pictures as he set them up around the dining room. He and Kurt had grown up together. They had always been the best of friends. They had always understood one another and loved each other. They had been through so much together, and Blaine couldn't wait for hundreds more pictures just like this as they continued to grow together. This time, as a couple.

He had brought candles, as well, but decided to forgo those, thinking that it was just a little too cliché. So all that was left now was making dinner. He's not the best cook in the world, but, being best friend's with Kurt his whole life, he had picked up a few tips and skills throughout the years. Besides, he figured Kurt wouldn't mind the food so much once he heard what Blaine had to say.

While dinner was cooking, Blaine set up a playlist on his iPod of his favorite Top 40 songs that made him think of Kurt, ranging from Teenage Dream to Just The Way You Are to Fucking Perfect. He smiled to himself, thinking of the countless hours he had spent singing these songs, and others like them, at the top of his lungs while alone in his room, just picturing Kurt in his mind. He was so hopelessly in love.

And then, before he knew it, dinner was ready, school was out, and Kurt was home. Blaine had ignored all the text messages Kurt had sent him throughout the day, asking where he was and why he wasn't at school and worried that he wasn't ok. Blaine was too afraid to answer, scared that he would give himself away. So, therefore, Kurt had no idea what Blaine was up to. Needless to say, Kurt jumped about 5 feet in the air when Blaine came bounding toward him the second he walked through the front door and wrapped him up in a tight hug, spinning him around in the air.

"Blaine! Oh my god you gave me a heart attack! I didn't think anyone was here! I was going to invite you over, but you weren't at school today. Why weren't you at school? Why are you at my house? What are-"

"Kurt, oh my god, just shut up. I wasn't at school because I was here, making... this!" Blaine said, as he led Kurt into the dining room, where his music playlist was playing quietly in the background and a meal of salad, seasoned chicken, and chocolate covered strawberries were laid out over a beautifully set table. "We also have the house to ourselves, tonight. Just me and you!"

"Oh! Blaine... this... this is wonderful. But why?"

"All in due time, Kurt. I promise I'll explain. But for now, let's eat!"

They ate and had nice, casual conversation, with Kurt talking about everything Blaine had missed at school, and Blaine talking about how he had to convince Burt to let them have the house to themselves for the night. Blaine held Kurt's hand the entire meal, and Kurt doesn't complain, although he can't figure out why Blaine would go to all this trouble for him. Was today an important date? It wasn't Blaine's birthday or something, was it? Oh, of course not. Kurt knew when Blaine's birthday is. He could never forget that. But then _why?_ It just didn't make sense.

When they finished eating, Blaine leaned over and gently fed Kurt a chocolate covered strawberry, openly staring at his lips as Kurt took a bite. When Kurt finished swallowing the dessert, he gigged nervously, trying not to squirm under Blaine's intense attention.

"Blaine? What is it? Do I have something on my face?"

"I love you," Blaine sighed.

Oh. Well, that's not exactly how Blaine planned on saying it. He had this long speech planned out, and he was going to slow dance with Kurt, and he was going to hand him a rose, and well... I guess now that plan was shot to hell. Oh well. He'd just have to go with it.

"You... you what?" Kurt asked, trying to remember how to breathe.

"I love you. I'm in love with you, Kurt. I have been since I was eleven years old."

"Oh my god... I- oh my god... Blaine... oh my god," Kurt stuttered. He was in shock. Was this real life? This couldn't be possible. Could Blaine Anderson, his best friend in the entire world, actually be in love with him? He couldn't believe it.

"Do you have anything else to say besides oh my g-"

"I love you, too!" Kurt all but shouted, interrupting Blaine and jumping into his arms, wrapping him in a tight hug, burying his head in Blaine's neck, drowning in the scent of his best friend... his _boyfriend._

Blaine let out a laugh and pulled Kurt tighter.

"I love you, I love you, I love you. I'm sorry it took me so long to say it," Blaine said, pulling back from the hug and putting his hands on either side of Kurt's face. They were so close that their noses were touching.

"Oh Blaine... I love you. So, so much," Kurt responded.

They smiled at one another, then, at the same time, moved in for a first kiss. They met each other halfway and practically melted and exploded at the same time from how right it felt. It felt like two parts of a whole, two missing pieces of a puzzle finally coming together. It was entirely Kurt and Blaine, and neither had remembered ever feeling so happy.

One day, Blaine would tell Kurt about his drunken love confession. One day when they could look back on it and laugh. But not today. No, today wasn't that day. Today was a day for perfect firsts. First love confession (that counted). First kiss. First slow dance, which they shared shortly after their first kiss. First boyfriends.

Everything was perfect. And Blaine knew that everything would always feel that way as long as he was with Kurt. Let the bullies hate. Let people glare at them. Let people try to tear them down. Because none of that would ever matter, because they had each other now. They could make it through.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: **Well, that's it. That's the end. I had a lot of fun writing this one. I hope you guys enjoyed it!

Sorry again for teasing you all with that last chapter, but hopefully this one made up for it!

When Blaine says "I love you" I totally picture it just how he said it to Kurt at the Lima Bean. It makes me sigh and get all giddy every time! Hahaha.

So... yeah. Until next time! Much love!

(Oh, and check out my profile every now and then. I'm publishing a book on Amazon soon, so, if you're interested, I'll put info about how/when to buy it on there!)


End file.
